Texas House Passes Republican-Favoring Congressional Map

Texas Republicans have advanced new congressional maps designed to increase their representation in the U.S. House of Representatives by up to five seats, following a party-line 88-52 vote in the Texas House. This redistricting effort, strongly urged by President Donald Trump, aims to bolster the GOP's chances of maintaining control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections and now awaits approval from the Republican-controlled state Senate and Governor Greg Abbott. Democrats fiercely opposed the move, staging a two-week walkout to delay the vote and promising legal challenges, arguing the maps dilute Democratic votes and were pushed through amid unresolved responses to recent deadly floods. The new map likely costs North Texas a Democratic seat by redrawing districts in ways that weaken Democratic constituencies and combine them into fewer districts, a change criticized by Democratic lawmakers as disenfranchising voters. Texas's aggressive redistricting parallels a similar move expected from California's Democratic-controlled legislature, which is preparing a map to add five Democratic-leaning districts pending voter approval. Republican lawmakers have openly acknowledged the partisan intent of the maps, citing Supreme Court rulings permitting such politically motivated redistricting.